Friday, 5 October 2007

Revenue for the first six months of the year came to almost $10 billion, marking a 27% increase over last year, according to a report released this morning.

Search accounted for almost $4.1 billion -- 41% of the total and more than any other type of ad format. While paid search has played a big role in the growth of online advertising in general, the report indicates that search's role is becoming even more important. Last year, search garnered a slightly lower share -- 40% of the total.

Led by spending in rich media and video ads, display ad revenue also increased to nearly $3.2 billion, or 32% of the total. Last year, display revenue totaled $2.4 billion, or 31%.

In other categories, classifieds lost market share, coming in at $1.7 billion, or 17% of total revenue, compared to last year's 20% ($1.6 billion). Email held relatively steady at 2% ($200 million). Referrals and lead generation increased to $799 million, accounting for 8%, from last year's $592 million (7%).